"Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?" He said to him, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."

~ Matthew 22:36-40

B is for Belief, C is for Covenant

At Saint John’s, we believe that “God’s love changes people and God’s people change the world.” In covenant with God, our response to the love we have received provides the foundation for our commitment to care for those in our midst and a world beyond. It leads us to bring light into the lives of people facing spiritual longings, physical and mental health challenges, discrimination, and feelings of isolation. Believing that each person holds sacred worth, we reach out to the vulnerable to recognize needs and to be extensions of God’s loving care.

When people visit our church, they are touched by the genuine welcome they receive and are drawn into a community which offers an instant sense of belonging. The warmth emanating from you blesses guests and leaves a lasting impression that creates a desire for more connection with our church family. 

As Director of Connections, I serve as a liaison for hospitality and a facilitator of congregational care. I regard each person with significance and interact to learn interests and concerns that, with your help, enable me to connect individuals to people and experiences in relevant ways. Simple steps and acts of kindness in the context in which God has placed all of us can begin the process of changing the world – one relationship at a time in a committed community changed by God’s love. You embody God’s hands and feet.

Among those in a covenantal commitment to the congregational care ministry are pastors and lay members. As the staff facilitator, I receive and share prayer concerns as well as offer personal support and prayers. Some areas of outreach for our care ministry team are: 

• Hospital pastoral visits – praying with hospitalized congregants
• Homebound Communion - making monthly deliveries
• Prayer cards - sending encouragement/support cards for weekly concerns
• Prayer Circle - praying for those on weekly Prayer Circle email list
• Care Connections - making ongoing visits and calls to homebound and those in recovery or needing a listening ear and/or prayer
• Meal trains – arranging meals when desired
• Seasonal flower deliveries- taking poinsettias/lilies to homebound
• Christmas caroling – singing to homebound and care facility residents
• Prayer blankets - collaborating with Saint John’s Threaders and other congregational knitters making blankets to wrap hospitalized people in special care
• Funeral/Memorial care and hospitality - tending to family needs and coordinating receptions including provisions, set-up, and cleanup
• Grief support - collaborating with the Mental Health ministry; offering a grief circle for those with recent immediate family losses

 
How blessed we are to be in this life together - believing that, in covenant with God, we can make a difference! You have done that in my life and work while so graciously partnering to serve others. May we stay committed to following Christ’s footsteps and his command to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind" and to "Love your neighbor as yourself."    

Lend Your Hands, Feet, and Heart...

Are you interested in participating in congregational care or hospitality at Saint John's? There are so many ways to jump in! If one of the outreach areas listed above is calling you, or if you have ideas for other ways to welcome and care for those in our community, you can contact Director of Connections Rebecca Witte at .